Report: Horn to defend WBO title vs. UK’s Skeete on November 25th at Brisbane Convention Centre

As previously reported on FightNights.com, British welterweight champion Bradley Skeete (27-1, 12 KO’s) was a candidate to fight WBO welterweight world champion Jeff Horn (17-0-1, 11 KO’s) in November after Manny Pacquiao was forced to pull out of a slated rematch due to senatorial commitments in the Philippines.

According to the Courier Mail, Glenn Rushton, Horn’s manager, revealed at a business breakfast Wednesday that the Australian will fight a “6 ft 1 champion English boxer” on November 25th at Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, which suggests that Skeete is the opponent.

Horn, 29, scored a controversial unanimous decision victory over Pacquiao in July to take the Filipino’s WBO world title. According to Compubox statistics, the Australian connected on 92 of 626 punches (15 percent), while Pacquiao landed 182 of 573 (32 percent).

According to ESPN, Arum was planning on having former unified super-lightweight champion Terence Crawford, 29, travel to Australia to have a front-row seat of the Pacquiao-Horn rematch. However, when it was announced that Pacquiao was not going to fight again in 2017, many speculated that Arum would not allow Horn to fight Crawford in his first title defense.

Skeete, 29, brings experience and international exposure, which also carries the possibility of generating much attention across Europe. He made his professional debut in October 2010 with a points victory over Billy Smith, following his retirement from his previous ballroom dancing career. His most notable victory was a points win over Sam Eggington (21-3, 13 KO’s) in March 2016.